We have heard of many harsh and cruel prisons in history.
We have heard of many harsh and cruel prisons in history. However, towards the end of the 19th century, the British government built a prison to mentally and physically kill political prisoners and freedom fighters alive, where even death was considered the greatest honor.
It was called the Cellular Jail, which is infamously known as Black Water among the general public. Let us turn this dark and serious page of history and look at it.
1. The pinnacle of loneliness:
The construction of this huge prison, which began in 1896 and completed in 1906, was spread out like the legs of an octopus into 7 branches, with a large watch tower in the middle. There were a total of 693 cells in this prison. Each cell was only 13.5×7 feet. The design of this prison was so clever that the prisoner in one room could never see or speak to the prisoner in another room. The prisoners were forced to sit for years only looking at the wall of their own room, due to which many lost their mental balance.
2. Harder and inhumane labor than animals:
The heart trembles even when hearing the physical torture given to the prisoners who reached Kala Pani. The prisoners were plowed into the oil mill like oxen and cows. During the day, each prisoner had to extract at least 30 pounds of coconut oil. If the assigned work was not completed, they were beaten with whips until their skin was cut and kept hungry with handcuffs. They were only given a small earthen pot to defecate in the room. Going to the toilet outside at night was strictly prohibited.
3. David Barry and the Invisible Grave:
The jailer of this prison, David Barry, is considered the most cruel officer in history. He used to tell the prisoners on the first day that God is only in heaven, but here (in Kala Pani), no matter what God and the king say, I am the one. Instead of giving medicine to the sick prisoners, they were tortured even more. Many prisoners, unable to bear this severe torture, committed suicide by hitting their heads on the prison walls or by committing suicide. The bodies of those who died were thrown directly into the sea by the British with stones tied to their feet.
Reference in the history of Nepal and India:
Although this prison was mainly used to imprison Indian freedom fighters, in the 1910s, a geopolitical strategy was devised to keep some revolutionaries who rebelled against the Rana regime in Nepal and the British rule in India under strict surveillance on this island. The proverb of going to the black water is still alive in Nepali society today as a symbol of exile or the most severe punishment.
A serious lesson for us:
Our ancestors had to endure an inhuman and cruel hell like the black water behind the foundation of the freedom, human rights and democracy that we live in today. This page of history teaches us how cruel and senseless the arrogance of power and empire can make a person.
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